NAACP calls for federal investigation after Black man dies telling police ‘I can’t breathe’

The NAACP has asked the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the death of a 53-year-old black man who repeatedly told police officers he couldn’t breathe during his arrest.

Frank Tyson died on April 18 after being confronted by an Ohio state trooper at a bar at the American Veterans Affairs Corps (AMVETS) camp in Canton.

“We are deeply troubled by this terrible tragedy,” Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a letter to Kristen Clark, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department. “There is,” he said.

“Without federal intervention, police officers may not be held accountable for their actions,” Johnson said in the letter, which was first obtained by NBC News. “We demand justice and accountability.”

A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to The Hill that the agency had received the letter, but declined further comment at this time.

Video footage of the encounter showed one of the officers placing his knee on Tyson’s upper body as he was handcuffed. Tyson began telling the officers, “I can’t breathe,” but the officers appeared unresponsive.

When the officer sat Tyson down, he stopped moving and appeared unresponsive. First responders performed CPR and administered multiple doses of Narcan before Canton Fire Department medics arrived.

Tyson was eventually taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:18 p.m.

Tyson’s death is reminiscent of the 2020 killing of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.

During his arrest, Floyd also told officers, “I can’t breathe.”

“Frank Tyson would be alive today,” Johnson posted Wednesday. on social platform. “Nearly four years after the tragic death of George Floyd, we must once again witness an unarmed black man screaming for air at the hands of law enforcement. yeah.”

The Canton Police Department on April 18 identified Bo Schoenegge and Camden Birch as “two key officers.” The two people assigned to the transportation department are on paid leave pending an investigation.

Bobby DiCello, an attorney for Tyson’s family, told NBC News that Canton police ignored Tyson’s humanity.

“In 2024, if a police officer kneels on someone and the last thing they say is, ‘I can’t breathe,’ the last words they might have heard were, ‘It’s okay, you.’ That’s way off,”’ DiCello said. “He may not have recognized it. That’s where Canton officials said the quiet parts of George Floyd’s death out loud. They’re saying the quiet parts out loud. You can do it through your own actions, or you can tell it to your face.”